The class of polymers of carbon monoxide and olefin(s) has been known for some time. Brubaker, U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,286, produced such polymers of relatively low carbon monoxide content in the presence of free radical initiators, e.g., peroxy compounds. G.B. 1,081,304 produced similar polymers of somewhat higher carbon monoxide content in the presence of alkylphosphine complexes of palladium salts as catalyst. Nozaki extended this process to produce linear alternating polymers in the presence of arylphosphine complexes of palladium moieties and certain inert solvents. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,412.
More recently, this class of linear alternating polymers has become of greater interest because of the greater availability of the polymers in quantity. These polymers, often referred to as polyketones or polyketone polymers, have been shown to be of the repeating formula --CO--(A)-- wherein A is the moiety of unsaturated hydrocarbon polymerized through the ethylenic unsaturation. By way of further illustration, when the ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon is ethylene the polymer is represented by the repeating formula --CO--(CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2)--. The general process for the more recent production of such polyketone polymers is illustrated by a number of published European Patent Applications including 121,965, 181,014, 213,671, and 257,663. The process typically involves a catalyst composition formed from a compound of a Group VIII metal selected from palladium, cobalt or nickel, the anion of a strong non-hydrohalogenic acid and a bidentate ligand of phosphorus, arsenic or antimony.
The resulting polymers are relatively high molecular weight thermoplastics having established utility in the production of shaped articles such as containers for the food and drink industry and internal and external parts for the automotive industry, which articles are produced by processing the polymer according to known methods. For some particular applications it has been found to be desirable to have properties for a polymeric composition which are somewhat different from those of the polyketone polymers. It would be of advantage to retain the more desirable properties of the polyketone polymer and yet improve other properties. These advantages are often obtained through the provision of a polymer blend.
Semi-crystalline polymers, such as the polyketone polymer, often suffer from substantial mold shrinkage and high thermal expansion, limiting their utility in applications where dimensional stability is critical. One way to solve this problem is to add a mineral filler having a very low thermal expansion coefficient. However, the addition of a mineral filler will often compromise impact strength. This reduction in impact strength can be offset by including a second polymer, such as a polyether esteramide polymer.